HAMID MIR--Is he an honest journalist or a traitor-Read and make up your mind, surely you will sense Mir Vs ISI battle from the last 10 years. Question: Why did he receive Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2012 when he has always been anti-Pakistan. Read and judge yourself Should we doubt the patriotism of ISI even if we assume that ISI was behind the shooting! Hamid Mir is a Pakistani journalist, news anchor,and security analyst. He currently hosts the political talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV and also writes columns for Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers. He was twice banned from Pakistani television by the Pervez Musharraf government in 2007 and by the Zardari administration in June 2008. He has also received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistans second highest civil award. Background Mir was born in Lahore, Punjab, in July 1966. He studied and completed his secondary education at University Laboratory School New Campus and Government Central Model School, Lahore. He received his intermediate degree from Government Science College and his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree from Government College. He earned his Master of Arts (M.A) in mass communications from the University of Punjab in 1989. He played cricket but left the sport after the sudden death of his father. Family Mir belongs to a literary and journalistic family. He is a Punjabi of Kashmiri origin. His grandfather Mir Abdul Aziz was an Urdu, Persian, and Punjabi language poet from Sialkot. Mirs father, professor Waris Mir, was also a columnist for Daily Jang and a critic of military dictator general Ziaul Haq, for which he was removed from the chairmanship of the Mass Communication Department of the University in the 1980s. His mother lost her whole family during migration from Jammu to Pakistan in 1947 after partition. Her brothers were killed by rioters in front of her eyes. Her mother was kidnapped. She saved her life by hiding under the dead bodies of her own relatives. His father died on 9 July 1987 under mysterious circumstances at the age of 48; it has been alleged that he was poisoned by the military regime. Mir entered the field of journalism immediately after the death of his father at a very young age. Mir has three brothers, two are also journalists. Amir Mir and Imran Mir. Mirs wife worked with Pakistan television and for a private television channel for many years. The couple has two children, son Arafat Mir and daughter Ayesha Mir. His children and wife were forced to spend at least three months outside Pakistan from May 2007 to July 2007 for security reasons. Notable papers, awards and work Awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz on 14 August 2012 for his services in Journalism by the PPP government under President Zardari. Mir interviewing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Earned an All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) award for best columnist (Urdu) for the years 1996, 1997, and 1998. Received the Maharishi Samman Award for Excellence in Journalism announced by Trust for Media Studies, in Jodhpur, India in March 2005. Awarded the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal from the Ministry of Women Development, Government of Pakistan for writing and speaking in support of womens rights, in August 2005. Interviewed Osama Bin Laden for the Daily Pakistan in 1997, for the Daily Ausaf in 1998, and for the Daily Dawn in 2001. The latter was the first interview after 9/11 by any journalist, and the BBC and CNN declared it an international scoop. The Monthly Herald announced that interview as the scoop of the year in its annual issue of December 2001. Author of a book on the political philosophy of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, published in 1990, which is still in print. On 26 March 2010, The foundation of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Writers and Literature have nominated Mir for the SAARC Lifetime Achievement Award 2010. In December 2011, Hamid Mir received Several Death Threats after he hosted a TV show on Influence of ISI in Pakistan Politics. Hamid Mir was declared most popular current affairs TV anchor in March 2012. On 26 November 2012, a bag containing a bomb was found under his car but that was not exploded and was defused by bomb experts and Mir remained safe. On 13 April 2013, a video surfaced on social media showing Hamid Mir receiving Friends of Liberation War Honour award by Sheikh Hasina. The video created a minor controversy in Pakistan. Controversy During his career he has come into conflict with the authorities and been banned or limited from reporting on several occasions: In October 2005, he covered the relief work of Kashmiri militants in Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir after an earthquake. His journalistic work established the presence of militants in Kashmir, and the Musharraf regime threatened to ban him from TV. Mir opposed so-called peace agreements between Taliban and Army in FATA in 2005 and annoyed powerful generals. Then Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan declared Mir a TRAITOR on state-controlled Pakistan television in 2005. Mir visited Bajour tribal area in January 2006 after a US missile attack in Damadola village. He again proved that the US missiles killed only innocent children and women, not Al Qaeda militants. Mir started discussing the role of Pakistani intelligence agencies in his famous talk show in 2006, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority issued him a show cause NOTICE for committing treason. Musharraf declared Hamid Mir a Taliban sympathiser after the emergency rule of 2007 and banned him from Geo TV for more than four months. In an interview with Monthly Newsline Karachi (December 2008 issue), Mir explained his differences with Musharraf. He claimed that actually he exposed the DOUBLE GAMES of secret agency ISI playing in the Red Mosque of Islamabad in a face to face meeting with the president. Mir presented some evidence that ISI was helping some militants who were creating law and order situation in the Capital. ISI turned against Mir after that meeting and propagated that Mir is a media face of Taliban. In fact Mir received threats from some militant groups when wrote investigative stories on Taliban.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 19:51:24 +0000
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